Departments’ demise is “an opportunity”

The declining number of department stores has given out-of-town garden centre owners an opportunity for their businesses to stay ahead and differentiate from the town centre stores with a unique “under one roof “offering, according to the organisers of Glee.
Matthew Mein, Glee Event Director, said: “Diversification has become essential for garden retailing, and stores are becoming more creative and innovative with their product offering to safeguard themselves against seasonal peaks and troughs. Home, gifting and clothing has become essential as non-weather-related goods to keep trade and demand buoyant.”
Larger garden centres which have a turnover of over £1million now take around half of their turnover from non-garden ranges according to the HTA Garden Market Analysis Report 2017.